Retailer Tesco said today it had bought the Makro Cash and Carry chain in Malaysia, doubling its retail space in the country.

Newspaper reports said Makro Malaysia, which has eight stores in the country, had been up for sale since September after its majority owner SHV Holdings NV of the Netherlands decided to quit the country.

Tesco said it would continue to offer wholesale products to small businesses at the Makro outlets but would also offer products to suit families and individuals in a new format to be called "Tesco Extra".

Tesco Malaysia, which is 30 percent owned by Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby, operates 11 hypermarkets and three smaller Tesco Express stores.

Several bidders, including French hypermarket operator Carrefour, US retail giants Wal-mart and Costco and Germany's Metro Cash and Carry had offered to take over the Makro, the New Straits Times said.